


Serenity

by procrastinationfairy



Category: Sailor Moon - All Media Types
Genre: but i think more people would find it with those tags, techincally the relationships would be more like serenity/mamoru and usagi/endymion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-17
Updated: 2014-07-15
Packaged: 2017-12-15 07:57:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/procrastinationfairy/pseuds/procrastinationfairy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in ancient Japan. At seventeen, Usagi Tsukino is supposed to be preparing for marriage, not war. But after she ruins her chance for a good match, she decides to take her father's place in the war against the Dark Kingdom. Then four other girls join her, and it just so happens that those four girls have been matched with the generals of Prince Endymion and Prince Endymion is rumored to be the reincarnation of Prince Mamoru who had an affair with the princess of the moon years ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All characters born in Japan will look Japanese with some leniency to browns and reds and in curliness.

Chapter 1

My name is Usagi Tsukino. I was born to Kenji and Ikuko Tsukino. I was their only child—a daughter. I was a disappointment.

I was a disappointment because I was a daughter. My father needed a son to carry on his legacy. My parents loved me though. I wasn't treated like many other daughters without a brother. I was taught everything I needed to be. In some things I was proficient; in others I wasn't. Housework was one of the things I was not. My mother tried to cover it up. The matchmaker would have trouble finding a man who wouldn't mind a woman like that. He would need to be rich enough to hire someone to clean, one of the women who were unable to find a husband. Rich men do not marry country girls like me.

The matchmaker is a person you hear much about in this village. She chooses who marries who and if you go against her advice, it will reflect on your child's match. It would be difficult to do anyway. If you weren't matched with who you wanted, he or she might not want to be married to you.

Perhaps I rambling a bit too much. Naru says I tend to do that. I have introduced myself sufficiently. I should move on.

It started one day when I was walking through the market with Naru. Naru Osaka was my best friend at home. Her mother was the matchmaker, which practically insured that I would have a good match. Naru would have a better one, of course. A man would like a matchmaker's daughter, especially if she was pretty, which Naru was. Her hair was one of the darkest I'd ever seen, but it had a red gloss. It was also curly. No one in our portion of the Golden Kingdom had curly hair besides her family that I knew of. There was wavy hair, like mine, but never curly. Naru had the same dark, near black eyes as anyone, but her face was so kind and pretty. Naru was perfect.

I'm not saying that I'm not pretty. I don't want to sound conceited, but I know I'm prettier than average. As I said before, my hair was wavy. It had neither a red nor blue shine, but gold. Gold like the kingdom. Do not misunderstand me—I had brown hair, only a few shades from black. But it shined like gold and I liked that. I stood out. Light hair is very rare around here. My eyes were the same color as Naru's and I liked them. My nose was different from most people's. It was sharper, but not un-pretty, I thought. I hated my chin. It had a dent in it. My lips were acceptable. They took pink all on their own. My eyebrows were the worst thing I could think of. They were thick and dark. I was lucky to hide them behind bangs. I hated my feet too. I understand feet are not the prettiest things in world, but mine were horrid. I'm going on and on about this. It doesn't really matter anyway. Naru says everybody scrutinizes their beauty too much to appreciate it.

Naru and I were talking about the men who had recently come to her mother's when I first saw him. It was a sunny day. The market was open, and there was someone from every family doing the shopping. I loved those days. It was so nice to just look around at stuff.

None of us noticed him at first. There was too much hustle and bustle to hear even the sound of fifty horses galloping our way, but slowly, the market quieted and turned to see who had come to our village. I was pretty far away from the group, but I could make out the figures of five men. The uniforms startled me. Four were general uniforms. One was a uniform that I had only seen in my imagination. It was a battle uniform, and it seemed dark, but there was something noble about it when you looked at it. Royal, almost. It took a few seconds for that to process. I finally understood why everyone was silent.

Prince Endymion was riding into our village. I stumbled in fear. Prince Endymion had no need to come to our village. We had nothing of importance.

"Perhaps he came to ask my mother!" Naru said excitedly. "Maybe he'll marry me!"

"Don't be silly, Naru. He's the prince. Besides, haven't you heard the rumors? He's supposed to be the reincarnated Prince Mamoru. You know, the one who ran off with the moon princess. . . . Wait, you haven't even gone through the process yet," I mumbled my confusion.

"My mother knows me inside and out. There's no reason for me to go through the process. You're silly, Usagi." Naru leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Isn't he handsome?"

Prince Endymion? Yes, he was. He had the black hair of our district (something we here loved. We liked to think royalty was connected to us) but the blue eyes of the European districts. He was startlingly handsome. I glanced back at Naru. But I had no time to think about that right now. Naru wouldn't be there? I needed her!

I blinked back tears. "Naru, I can't be alone. I'll be too scared. I won't know anyone."

"Yes, you will. All of the village girls." Naru looked like she thought I was insane.

"I don't really know them. I'll be alone." I was shaking. I had too many childhood memories. I wasn't teased at all. No—people loved me. The attention started to scare me. I never understood why but it gave me horrid nightmares of dying and swords and bleeding and screaming. I made a fool of myself. I had to hide then. My outgoing personality faded. I was the girl in the background.

"You'll be fine. It's time for you to make new friends," Naru decided. "Oh, look! He's talking."

We both looked up at our prince.

" . . . Considering that it is market day." I looked at Naru. She didn't know what the first part of the sentence had been either. "A male from each family will need to report. Pick this paper up as you leave."

I waited for a second. "Should I get it for my father?"

"I suppose so. Bye!" Naru skipped away. Her father had been dead for years. There were no other males in her family. She had no reason to stay.

I walked up. I noticed it was all men. The prince probably only wanted them. It didn't matter. I needed to get this for my father.

"My father is ill and resting at home," I muttered. "I will take the paper to him."

"He will be better soon?" the prince asked.

I nodded.

"Good."

Contrary to popular belief, my father was not a war hero. It was my mother's brothers, and, in fact, they were only soldiers. I had no real war background. My father was a simple worker. I turned to leave. Why were so many people looking at me? I tried to hurry away. I couldn't believe I embarrassed myself in front of the prince. This is probably the only time I'll ever meet him and he won't forget me. He'll think of me as a presumptuous woman.

"Girl."

Or that.

"Yes, your Highness?" I asked. I hoped I'd said that right.

"You will take that to your father? You won't destroy it and claim you never had it?" Prince Endymion was questioningly me personally. How had I gotten into this mess?

"Th-that's illegal!" I stuttered.

The prince smiled. He thought my surprise was sufficient.

It shouldn't have been. He'd planted an idea in my head. My father wasn't actually ill. He was a fairly healthy man. He just wasn't there at the time. My father was old though. He married my mother when he was in his late thirties and had me on his fortieth birthday—June 30th. I loved sharing that with my father. Nothing could change the fact that Kenji Tsukino was too old to go to war.

Nothing else occurred to me at the time. I just walked home.

*

It was at dinner that I remembered the piece of paper in my pocket. I finished chewing the bite in my mouth and set down my utensils. I dug around until I found what I was looking for and snapped my head back up.

"While I was at the market today," I began, unfolding the paper and handing to my father, "Prince Endymion stopped by the market today. I was supposed to give this to you."

Father read it quickly. His face lost all color. I straightened up nervously.

"I must go to war," he said. Mother looked like she would faint.

"I thought we were winning!" I jumped up and exclaimed. I tried to recall everything he said. "He called a man from each family."

Father shook with fear. They called a man from each family. I think that I may have started to shake to. How could we be winning if they needed this amount of soldiers? And if we weren't winning, how could I be sure that my father would return? I pressed my lips together and stared down at my food. I excused myself quietly and ran up to my room.

I was scared to death for him. I had to figure out a way to save him.

*

If I were to be honest, I didn't have any time to think about things like that. The next few days, Mother was preparing to send me to the matchmaker. She tried to teach me to cook (failure), to clean (another failure), and many other things (all failures). The only thing I was remotely good at looking pretty.

"Ow!" I squeaked as another hair was plucked from my eyebrows.

"Don't worry, dear. It will be done soon," Mother said. It wasn't, but when it was, I was sure my face would be scarred pink from the pain. Mother gave me a mirror. The skin was pale up close, but hidden from far away, and unnoticeable when I left my bangs there. "You look so beautiful. The matchmaker will most certainly help you marry up."

I worried about marrying up. It meant that the man would have needed to marry down.

I was decorated traditionally and I looked in the mirror. Something felt off. I didn't want to go to the matchmaker. Mother opened the door to our house and we began to walk down the street.

"Can I do this next year? I can pass for younger," I begged my mother. She shook her head and pushed me into the crowd of girls. I tried to keep from crying the first few seconds, but a giddy feeling came into me the next. The other girls looked just as nervous. Plus, marrying seemed so nice. I could imagine being someone's wife.

I smiled.

A girl next to me saw that. She decided I was friendly and started talking. She was really pretty. Her hair was even curlier than Naru's, but it didn't make her seem quite ladylike. It bounced when she walked. She was tall, but friendly-looking. I liked her already. "Are you nervous? I am. I'm not sure I'll be able to get a good match. I'm Makoto Kino."

I had never heard of the Kino family, but our village was a larger one surrounded by many smaller ones. She must live there. "This matchmaker is really fair. If she thinks she can find you a good match, she will." Makoto seemed surprised that I knew so much. I hadn't felt so friendly in years, but Makoto was surprisingly easy to talk to. I beamed and explained, "Her daughter, Naru, is my friend."

"You're lucky!" Makoto burst out. She giggled at the looks she received and fell back in line. "This is Ami Mizuno. She's the daughter of the woman I work for. Her mother suggested I come here."

Ami was a tiny girl with large dark eyes and blue-black hair. Her clothes suggested her rank in society.

"Hello. I'm Usagi Tsukino," I said.

Ami nodded without a hint of smile. We entered the matchmaking room. I smiled at Naru's mother. She pointed over to a table in a corner. I saw Naru and two other girls. I frowned. The tables only held four people.

"I'm sorry, Makoto, Ami; I see Naru. I'm going to sit with her." I really felt bad for leaving the girls, but I needed Naru to hide behind and they would find a place to sit. I could talk to them later too.

"Alright. Bye, Usagi!" Makoto called with a grin.

I hurried to the empty seat and smiled. "I thought you said you wouldn't be here."

Naru shrugged. "Mother said it was tradition. Sit down, Usa. Usagi, this is Rei Hino and Minako Aino. This is Usagi Tsukino." She gestured back at me. I stared at Minako and Rei. Hino was the name of one of king's advisors. Aino was the richest family around. I looked at Naru. Of course. They needed good matches. But couldn't the Ainos afford to send Minako to the city? Why was Rei in the country? Minako and Rei both had long black hair. Both looked like city girls. In fact, their eyes bordered on light-colored. I was jealous.

"It's nice to meet you," I said. Naru was surprised at how bubbly I was being.

Minako grinned back. "Yes! I'm so excited! I can't wait to find out who my husband will be!"

Rei simply nodded.

Naru whispered, "There are really only three tests. The first test will be individual; then, Mother will put us in groups and watch us."

"Do you know what the tests will be like?" Minako whispered.

Naru said no. I sat awkwardly through their conversation. Gradually, girls disappeared from the room and returned. Minako, then Rei, left. Naru complained that her mother was waiting to work with her last. I just smiled.

"Usagi Tsukino," Naru's mother called. I stood up gently and walked over to her. Mrs. Osaka led me into a little room and gave me a chair. She took a seat on the opposite side of the table.

"How are you, Usagi?"

I smiled shyly. "Good."

"Alright. This interview is really a formality, but do you have any preference on the man I will choose?" Mrs. Osaka waited as I debated what I wanted my husband to be like. It honestly wasn't a hard decision.

"If . . . if you can find him, I would like someone who is kind and serious. Mostly kind though," I added in a hurry.

Naru's mother looked at her list. "I'll see what I can do."

She sent me back out into the group room and called a name I didn't recognize.

Minako waved me over as I exited. "How do you think you did, Usagi? That was a pretty easy test. I'm glad we get a little bit of choosing because I would hate it if I got a husband that liked me, but I didn't really like him. It wouldn't be a good situation for any of us. I just hope Naru's mother can find someone I'll like."

I'd lost her point. "Oh, yes." I looked at where we were. They had moved to a table to eat lunch. This was a larger table. I started to smile as I sat down. Ami and Makoto could sit here now. Both Minako and Rei stopped me from calling them over, each placing a hand on top of mine. With that action, it struck me as odd that these two girls looked so similar, with long, pin-straight black hair—although Minako's shined gold and Rei's was pure black—and similar eyes, but their personalities could be so different.

In the second test, we were handed a piece of paper and instructed to write a letter to the man we would marry introducing ourselves.

"It's most likely to judge our handwriting," Naru said, hardly looking up from her paper. I looked sadly at my own scribbles. Her elegant calligraphy made mine worthless. I sighed and continued. "I've also seen my mother show these to men because she says the tone of your writing tells a lot about yourself."

I could only hope a man would overlook my shortcomings in writing.

"How should sign it?" Minako wondered aloud. "I don't want to sound presumptuous with 'love', but 'your friend' is not exactly something you want to hear from your future wife."

"Respectfully," I answered with looking up. I had just finished my letter and was printing my own closing. I signed my name. Even my signature was kind of ugly. I sighed and folded it up.

Once everyone had handed their letters in, Mrs. Osaka sent us in groups of four. A village girl whose name slipped my mind, a girl I didn't know, and Ami were in my group. The matchmaker then revealed that our test would be the tea ceremony.

"Oh my gosh," I muttered and bit my tongue. I could hardly remember the steps. Naru's mother set a table for the four of us and left everything we needed while she sat a couple feet away and watched.

I wasn't really paying attention. I'd managed to pass the first tests, but the group test was the hardest. The buzz of making friends so quickly had worn off and I felt like my normal shy self. I watched the other girls in my group pour tea gracefully and flushed. I have never been able to pour a drink without spilling a drop.

"You'll do alright."

I turned to the voice. I was surprised to see little Ami, who hadn't deemed to say a word to me the whole day. She gave a shy smile as she passed the teapot. I didn't know she'd even taken her turn yet. I accepted it with a smile and tried to pour. The handle was wet—just wet enough that it was sticky, but also slippery. It fell from my hands and shattered on the table. I had no other thing to do than run.

Mrs. Osaka jumped up and followed me. She caught me right at the door. "Usagi," she said, "I'm really sorry. I wish I could do better for you. I can't cover up that test though. Too many people know about it. I'll try to find you a match."

I choked back a sob. A match. Not a good match. Just a match. I watched as tears ran down my kimono.

I would never get a good husband.


	2. Chapter 2

I was a disgrace, and I knew it. There was nothing else on my mind at the time. I wouldn't get a good husband—if kind, poor, and if rich, cruel—and that made me worry about my mother. After all, it was completely common knowledge in my village that my father would not survive the war. I had no idea what to do.

"I wouldn't have this problem if I was a boy!" I jeered at myself.

Then it hit me. If I was a boy, I could go to war in place of my father. My mother would still be taken care of. I wouldn't have to worry about getting married. If I was a boy . . . or if everyone  _thought_  I was a boy . . . . That's when I knew that I was going to run away.

I rose from my spot on the floor and searched my room for old sashes. I tied my sashes tightly around my chest. It was painful at first, but slowly it went numb. I knew I couldn't tie it any tighter, so I looked as flat-chested as I could possibly be. In my dresser, I had some old tunics and a few pair of pants that my cousin used when he visited as he frequently forgot to pack. I tried the clothes on and looked in my mirror. The clothes were a little too large, but that was best for what I was trying to hide. Other than my hair, I could almost pass for a very feminine boy.

"Usagi! Come down for dinner!" Mother called. I hurriedly changed back into my kimono. I stuffed my cousin's clothes away. I could not let anyone discover my plan.

* * *

After I ate, I went back up to my room. I laid down and tried to sleep. I drifted off a couple of times, but I never got any deep sleep. I'd hoped that I could; I needed the energy for my journey, and it would pass the time. I ended up just lying in bed for my remaining hours at home.

Once I was certain my parents had gone to sleep, I changed back into my "boy" disguise, snuck into the main room, and took the armor my father bought. I was a bit short for it, but my father wasn't terribly taller than me, so it didn't make much of a difference. I then took the sword from its sheath and cut off my hair.

That was hard. I liked my hair very much. It was very long and very hard to manage, but I'd always thought it was worth it. At this moment, I didn't care. I'd thought long and hard about this. I was no longer Usagi Tsukino.

"Time to go," I whispered to myself and shut our front door. I reread the directions and headed off.

* * *

I arrived at the send-off station in between batches. The next one wouldn't be for a few days, and I had, unfortunately, arrived very early in the morning, just as the sun rose. The trek there was tiring, and I had to gingerly hold myself up as I spoke to the man behind the counter.

I looked around nervously. "I really can't wait. I need to leave as fast as possible."

"I suppose that's a good thing. We have a group of young ladies chosen by the generals, and the generals want to meet their brides before the war, and with brides like these, you don't exactly want to leave them to the disposal of a few hundred young men. You will be assigned to their camp to train, and your first job is to take these young ladies to the camp," the station man said.

The four women revealed themselves. It seemed a little coincidental—Ami, Makoto, Rei, and Minako. I smiled.

"Go on," the man said. He handed me the supplies I would need for the journey—three tents for two people each, plenty of water and food, among other things—and shooed me away.

I put the items into my bag. It weighed my shoulders down considerably, but I didn't complain. I needed to become stronger if I was to be a soldier. The four girls followed behind me slowly. None of them seemed inclined to talk to me. That was fine. I wasn't sure exactly how I would pull this off yet. As far as they knew, I was an anonymous soldier.

We had marched half a day and still no one had spoken a word, not even to each other. Finally, Minako spoke up.

"May we stop for lunch?" she asked. Makoto removed her arms for her stomach and I realized she'd been implying her hunger for a few miles now. Ami and Rei seemed to agree. I nodded and divided the rations evenly. I handed everyone their share of food and water before beginning to eat.

Ami stared as I took a bite. "Sir," she said finally in a tiny voice, "you're the soldier. You should develop your strength." She tried to hand me a little of her food, but I pushed it back towards her. I wasn't feeling up to eating much food.

"I'll be fine," I mumbled.

Rei froze in the midst of breaking her piece of bread in half. She tilted her head and tried to study my face. I lowered it. "Sir, what is your name?"

I bit my lip and said, "Ren Tsukino."

"Are you Usagi's brother?" Minako asked cheerfully.

"You know my sister?" I questioned as loudly as I could without revealing my voice.

"Yes!" Minako proceeded to relate a long story about my time at the matchmaker. I pretended to listen, but it wasn't something I wished to remember.

Makoto set down her water and shook her head. Finally, she stood up, looking down on me. I rose and stared back at her. I'd forgotten that she was so much taller than me. It didn't help my disguise at all. I wait for her to say something, but she finally just rolled her eyes and took her seat again.

We finished eating. I hadn't realized we'd taken such a late meal. The sun was setting once I'd put the remains away.

"I'll set up the tents," I muttered. I'd thought it would be easy, but the moon was high in the sky by the time I finished.

As Rei entered the tent she shared with Minako, she said, "You aren't much of a soldier."

Didn't I know it?

I stumbled into my tent. Collapsing on my blankets, I shut the doors and pulled the sashes from my chest. That was so much more comfortable. I curled up in the blankets as I whispered good night to myself. I shut my eyes. Tomorrow, we would need to move faster to get there on time. I finally drifted to sleep.

* * *

We walked even farther the next few days. Slowly, the girls began to open up to each other. I didn't understand it, but they built a bond very quickly. I wished to be a part of that, but it wasn't my place now. I wasn't Usagi anymore. I had a duty, and I couldn't sacrifice it for anything.

It was about three days into the trip when Ami spoke up again. "Sir, perhaps we can stop . . . and . . . bathe . . . ." She flushed. I wondered why, then remembered that she believed I was a man. Of course she would blush. I would if I was in Ami's position.

I decided to say something I thought a man. "You can't wait any longer?"

I hoped she would say no. My hair was icky and sweaty and all around gross. Even under disguise, I wanted to be clean.

"Well, I suppose," Ami muttered. She was always eager to please. Masking my face, I groaned inside my head. I wanted to be clean too!

"I can't!" announced Makoto. I was so relieved.

"When we arrive at a stream, you will take turns and guard each other," I ordered.

"Why?" asked Minako.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I would presume you wouldn't want me to."

Her face made the area heat a few degrees. They agreed on an order. We came to a large river a couple of miles away. I waited and set up camp as the girls each took their sweet time. Maybe that was hypocritical; I would take quite a bit of time to, although not as much. I still had to appear to be Ren. I couldn't take as much time as Usagi.

I wanted to cheer when Rei, the last one, returned, water dripping down her arms and plastering her hair to her clothes. She pushed a bit of her bangs to the side so she could see me as she nodded for me to go ahead.

I sunk into the water nervously. I was worried that one of them would come over and discover me. Of course, that was silly. No proper lady would willingly go near a naked (unbeknownst to them, wo)man unless it was an emergency. I hoped there wouldn't be one.

Washing my hair took much less time than I was used to. I climbed out nervously, covering my chest with my arms. I hurriedly tied them back up and pulled myself into my male clothes.

When I rejoined them at camp, everyone was asleep. I slipped into my tent and did the same.

* * *

As I packed up the camp the next morning, I realized how much work the soldiers actually put in. I almost felt bad for remarking to a few of a my cousins that they should try living in their mothers' shoes for a day. I could hardly left a large portion of our items and even once in a bag, it weighed me down. I also couldn't complain to my traveling companions. It would go completely against propriety and give questions to my identity. I had looked a few times myself and I knew that if anyone took too close a look, they would see a woman.

When I finally finished, all four girls had gathered up their belongings and were sitting neatly, ready to travel. I gestured for them to stand when I noticed a mark on Ami's face. It was by her ear and out of sight so long as she didn't push her hair out of the way, but it was a long and deep cut.

"What happened?" I wondered.

Ami looked down.

Makoto said, "There was something here from the Dark Kingdom. It attacked us, but we beat it and it decided that there wasn't anything of value here."

I stood tall. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You've done enough for us, sir. We didn't want to bother you," gave Ami as a lame excuse. Rei seemed to be too preoccupied to answer. Minako stared off into her own world, happily as always.

The knowing smile she gave me as we walked away was unnerving.

* * *

Travel continued in a typical pattern. We walked; we ate; we slept, and when needed, we bathed. I had become rather careless and it wasn't until one morning where I woke up to a small shriek that I remembered the death penalty. I sat up quickly. The cotton blanket been kicked to my feet while I slept. I looked up. Makoto's shell-shocked face greeted me.

"Makoto," I called.

The girl slowly returned to normal. She quickly turned and left the tent. I reached for my sashes, tying my breasts up as fast as I could. I untangled myself from the blanket and peeked my head out. Makoto saw me leave and shook her head. She walked back over to where I now stood outside the tent. After staring at me for a moment, she seemed to recover from the shock. I prepared myself for the revealing. Surely, my secret would be blown now. As soon as I arrived at camp, Makoto and the other girls would order the soldiers to kill me on sight.

Makoto stared at me for a moment. No one else seemed to notice what was going on. She studied my face and suddenly seemed to understand. She smiled in the way you did to wild animals to assure them that you wouldn't hurt them.

"Usagi, you need to work on your voice. You still sound like yourself," she told me. "You need to speak lower. You'll be killed on the spot if you arrive like this."

Ami, who had been taking a drink, let the water run down her mouth as she spluttered in shock. She wiped it away with her sleeve. Rei looked slightly surprised, but Minako waved as if she'd known the entire time.

"Usagi?" Ami squeaked.

"You won't tell, will you?" I begged. "My father  _can't_  go to war. Please!"

None of them answered. They exchanged looks. Finally, Rei spoke up. "Usagi, we can't let you do this."

"Why not?" I whined.

"You can't be killed," said Minako with a surprising amount of force. Something behind her eyes was glowing. It wasn't fury; it wasn't protectiveness. It wasn't even emotion, I believe. It was just something glowing bright. "I will in no way let you endanger yourself like that." A little smile graced her face and Minako appeared to be the same airhead as always. "Well, at least, not without me. How do you think Masashi Aino sounds?"

I looked at her. She waited for an answer from any of us. "Don't you already have someone going for your family?"

She shook her head rapidly back and forth.

"Well," Minako began on a second thought, "if someone comes to question my father, he will either pay them or send a distant relative in his stead. If I go, I don't think he will notice a difference." Ami, Rei, and Makoto seemed to get an idea.

"Neither do we," Ami added referring to herself and Makoto.

Rei was an only daughter. Each of them took my sword before I had a chance to protest and chopped off their own hair. Minako and Rei mourned the loss, but I had to admit, the way their hair hung blandly across their head made them look very masculine . . . for a girl disguised a man that is. Ami hardly seemed to care as she got rid of it all. Her hair curled slightly under. I was surprised to find that she still seemed very feminine with short hair. We all decided that we'd find a way to cover that later. Makoto's hair was even curlier once cut.

Perhaps it should have occurred to me as strange that five girls, who all happen to be the only child in their family, would end up together, but it didn't. Instead, all four of them borrowed a few sets of my (cousin's) clothes, while we managed to find some extra sashes, until we reached the next town, where we purchased enough for all of us, along with a set of armor for each of them. Makoto was the one who noticed that. I suppose it would have been silly to show up at a training camp without it. Ami made them all each purchase a sword.

"Just in case," she noted with a slow, calculating glance of her eyes.

We thought about names as we talked around the fire that night. In a way, I was very happy. I could finally join in on these conversations.

"Rei is a unisex name," mentioned the girl who bore said name.

Minako groaned. "Two members of a family with the name Rei? I highly doubt anyone would do that. I am sure that your fiancé would know your name anyway."

"Keitaro, then."

Ami chose to be Chikao.

"I want to be Mako," the curly-haired girl stated loudly. Glares abounded. She huffed. "I suppose Itsuki will do."

Ren Tsukino, Masashi Aino, Keitaro Hino, Chikao Mizuno, and Itsuki Kino, I mused. The names were alright. They were what we would become for the next few months.

"This way, we will be able to meet our fiancés," stated Ami. "If we don't like them, perhaps we can just disappear. Make it seem like the Dark Kingdom killed us."

"Surely they won't be bad people," Makoto remarked. "Mrs. Osaka is supposed to be a good matchmaker anyway. Aren't they supposed to be suited to us?"

"My father wasn't," she murmured.

The area was awkwardly silent for a moment. Finally, Minako cheerily asked, "Who are your fiancés anyway? If I recall correctly, I am supposed to be engaged to a General Kunzite."

"General Jadeite," Rei said calmly.

"General Zoisite."

"Nephrite." Everyone glanced at Makoto. She shrugged. "If I will marry him, I see no reason to address him with a title."

To work on a light note, we came up with the story that while we were on our way to deliver the four ladies, we were captured by the Dark Kingdom. It was at the river when we had taken baths when the real battle occurred. Only two of us were at the camp with the women at the time. As we had not been trained, we had no way to fight them and barely escaped ourselves. The other three joined us a little too late. The girls were captured. Masashi was a distant relative of Minako. Keitaro would be the same for Rei. Chikao was Ami's younger brother, and Itsuki was Makoto's twin.

I was thankful that none of them asked me. I smiled. Perhaps this masquerade would be fun.


	3. Chapter 3

"There's the camp," I said. Ami glanced up at it and shied back. Makoto ran forward a bit to get a better look. Neither of the other two seemed eager to go any higher on the hill.

I stepped back and ran a hand through my now short hair. It had little waves in it. I played with the strands as I waited for one of them to step forward and say something. Minako glanced back at me. As I had seen her do before in the past week or so I'd known her, she suddenly dropped the giggly persona and became commanding.

"We all need to get moving. I don't know when we are supposed to—or were, if the case may be—arrive, but there's no use putting it off. Are you all ready?" she asked. We lined up awkwardly behind her. Ami and I hung back while Rei trailed closely behind Minako. Makoto jogged back down and walked in between our duo of duos.

As we walked toward the start of camp, we met up with two other soldiers.

"Hi," one said as he approached us. "I'm Motoki Furuhata. This is Gurio Umino. Who are you?"

I noticed that he was addressing me. Subtly, I glanced back. Somehow, all of the girls had moved stand behind me. I looked helplessly at Minako. She sighed and stepped up again, switching to the voice she had practiced alongside the rest of us.

"I'm Masashi Aino. This is Ren Tsukino, Chikao Mizuno, Keitaro Hino, and Itsuki Kino."

Motoki stared at us for a moment. He cracked a smile. "Your names all end in 'no'."

I scrunched my nose. They did. I've never been quite sure if destiny existed or not, but I had to wonder if there was a reason all five of us met. It would make some sense of a coincidence. I laughed at myself. I was being silly. I looked back at Motoki. He pointed up the hill to a large bustling crowd. I could see heads turn to look down the hill. Figures moved back in forth. Something about the situation seemed very tense and worried. I squinted to see better. I could see some lighter colors . . . on heads. Suddenly I stiffened. There were men with light hair here. The men with light hair were most likely the generals. We had to face them now.

I looked and saw that my companions had realized the same thing. I nodded for Motoki to continue.

"They're waiting for some women to appear. Apparently, they were supposed to arrive days ago. They're worried that the Dark Kingdom captured them."

Rei said, "They did."

Motoki and Gurio stared at us.

"We were supposed to guard them on the way," Ami explained. "Ami . . . is my older sister. Minako is a relative of Masashi, same for Rei and Keitaro."

"Makoto is my twin," Makoto added.

The two men looked at me. I sniffed when I grasped that they were wondering about me.

I said, "I was just there. My sister is safe at home."

Motoki stood still as our words sunk in. He took off running up the hill. He waved to the rest of us and we followed. He ran all the way to the crowd where he slowed down so we could keep up with him. I grabbed Ami's hand and Makoto's shirt so I didn't get lost. When I noticed some of the men staring at me, I let go. I hadn't realized that it would be so hard to act like a man. Honestly, holding hands is a good way to stick together. We navigated our way up to the large golden platform were the generals were. Once we stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up at them, I noticed someone very important: Prince Endymion.

I suppose I should have realized that he would be there. He's always supposed to be near his generals. They are partners. As I was saying, Motoki tried to get attention, but it seemed futile at first. So many people were talking, and a few of them appeared to be paying no attention. The ones who were looked frustrated and exhausted. They had to have had headaches.

Finally, Prince Endymion glanced our way. "Do you have something important to say?" he asked.

Motoki replied, "The ladies were traveling with these men."

Abruptly, the whole camp silenced. The four generals arranged themselves around the prince. We didn't dare to make a move or speak a word, and they stared silently at us.

After a long silence, the silver-haired one stepped forward and demanded, "Where are they?"

Prince Endymion motioned for him to be silent. "What are your names?"

We introduced ourselves. He nodded and ordered someone to mark that down.

"What happened?" he wondered calmly. His gaze stayed on me. Although I was unaware at the time, this was because I was the only one who didn't have connections with the supposedly missing girls and thus would be the least emotional. That is, if that story was true. As it was at the time, I was terrified that he recognized me. He had already spoken to me personally once. I had to calm myself down. If "Usagi" is supposed to be my older sister, then we should look alike. And when "she" said that she would take it to our father, she thought I was too young to go. This was all worked out in my head. If the prince asked me anything, I knew what to say.

Of course, having yet another person look at me for answers, I quickly stepped back and pushed Minako forward. She glanced back at me and sighed as if she were disappointed in me.

She said, "We were escorting the young ladies when we stopped by the river." She paused. Minako had forgotten what our names were. "Chikao, Keitaro, and Ren were refilling our water bottles when the Dark Kingdom attacked by our campsite. Itsuki and I couldn't fight them. They couldn't get back in time. Minako, Rei, Ami, and Makoto were taken."

The generals all appeared to be very infuriated, but the prince hardly reacted. He ordered for them to leave so they would calm down.

"I had presumed as much. I assume it took you this long because of injuries," Prince Endymion said once they'd disappeared. He didn't wait for us to answer. "I highly suspect that they will be very angry at you. I am not. You have no training and the Dark Kingdom can best any outnumbered group. I suggest that you are on your best behavior though."

"Yes, sir." Minako bowed and stepped back. The rest of us cautiously tried to follow.

"You!"

I froze, turned around, and addressed my prince.

Prince Endymion watched me for a moment. "Stop letting people speak for you. When someone addresses you, it is your duty to reply. We can't have weak soldiers."

I lowered my head.

"Speak!"

I squeaked, "Yes, sir!" and ran off.

* * *

Later that night, when we all crashed inside our tent after a long day of set up (The generals took our two person tents because they would be useful for scouting missions. We now shared one big one, all together, thankfully), I looked at the other girl and said, "When I was speaking to the prince earlier . . . I didn't sound like, well,  _Usagi_ , did I?"

"Maybe," answered Ami noncommittally.

Rei, who was lying down and not making a noise, said, "We have to be very careful now. If they find out one of us is a girl, they'll check us all. We have to—"

"Why would they check us all?" Makoto asked.

"Because . . . . Say they found me. Rei Hino is missing. Keitaro is actually a girl. Is it possible that Keitaro is Rei? If so, what about the others?" Rei explained. Makoto and Minako stared blankly as Ami fell onto her blankets in exhaustion. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Never mind. We just have to watch out for each other."

I nodded and curled up. I was exhausted. To lull myself to sleep, I thought of a child's tale: the tale of Serenity and Mamoru. It had always been my favorite because of how romantic it was. And it was  _true_. The story flew through my head like always. Serenity's face, the perfect pretty princess one, framed by her blonde hair, cried at Mamoru's death. This time, though, remembering Naru's words back home, Mamoru's face was Endymion's. Suddenly the story seemed even more realistic and I could feel the cold whipping at my arms as I reached for my fallen friends.

I fell asleep.

* * *

"For Elysium's sake, U— Ren, wake up!"

I turned over and tried not to wake up. It was too late. I opened my eyes, the bright morning sunlight blinding me. A shadow moved over my line of vision and I sighed. The form was feminine . . . no, masculine. I tried to open my eyes, but it was too bright. I heard a huff and felt a shove on my arm.

"We need to get going," snapped Rei. I hurriedly got dressed and followed her out the tent, nervously realizing that we were the last to fall in line. I tried to look and see what was in the front. When voices began to speak, I knew it was the generals.

The first voice was gruff and solemn. I didn't know which general it was. "We have already split you into teams. Those who share a tent with you are your partners. You will learn to work with them because the entire time you will be deployed, they will be with you.

"Today, you will all choose what your position will be. Nephrite will teach you hand-to-hand combat—at least one member in each team needs to specialize in this. Zoisite will teach you sword-fighting—one there as well. Jadeite will teach you to spy—one or two here. I will walk around and decide who will be a specialist. I will also decide who will be the leader.

"Your leader must excel at everything."

Something about the sentence made me shiver.

* * *

Rei and I met up with everybody else when we stopped at General Nephrite's area. Minako and Ami had paired up to spar and Makoto was standing with Gurio. I couldn't see Motoki anywhere.

"Where've you been, Kei, Ren?" asked Minako in her gruff "man" voice. It took Rei a minute to respond to the nickname.

"Ren wouldn't wake up," she responded blithely.

The general scolded us for speaking and immediately started the lesson. Rei defeated me easily. I watched as Makoto dodged every one of Gurio's attempted attacks and managed to get in some good hits. Ami and Minako's fight was very interesting to watch. Ami managed to avoid being injured, but she refused to attack. Minako saw no reason to defend herself and took great joy in testing out new moves. I watched as General Nephrite bypassed them to stop and see Makoto. I hoped that he was going to get to know his future "brother-in-law" but no luck.

"If you are so talented at hand-to-hand, why were you unable to protect your sister?" he demanded.

Makoto didn't even flinch. I was amazed by her. Makoto was strong. She didn't take anything like that from people and she could stand up for herself. She swiftly replied, "There were only two of us, and we were trying to stay alive as well. We did our best."

Her would-be fiancé scowled and walked away. I had a feeling that he hadn't made too much of an impression on her. After a few more rounds, General Kunzite stopped by and appointed Makoto our specialist. I could see that Minako was a little incensed about being ignored, but she said nothing.

* * *

We worked with General Zoisite next. Makoto and Minako paired up this time while Ami worked with Rei. I was with Motoki. This time, we'd lost Gurio somewhere.

Minako showed an amazing amount of skill for it. She was quickly named the specialist for our group, which she took great pride in. Makoto admitted that she needed much training here. Both Rei and Ami were proficient in this as well, but Minako showed skill that surprised the other men.

We were all surprised to see that the general treated us as he treated the other trainees. I think Ami was very thankful for that. She seemed very inclined to get to know her fiancé.

I liked sword-fighting much better. The sword was heavy, but it was fairly easy to use and I didn't have to rely solely on strength. I was beginning to enjoy our masquerade.

* * *

General Jadeite's session was rather difficult. I could stand still and be nearly invisible, but as soon as I was to take a step, I would fall with a loud crash. The general glared at me frequently and the other soldiers laughed. It was official, almost as if there had been a hand-out dictating it: I was the worst trainee in the camp. I almost wished that I'd come by myself. I could have excused this to myself as being a girl, but with four others in the camp exceling far past many of the men (which therefore proving that whatever men could do, we could do better) that was a moot point.

Ami and Rei were declared our spies because they were  _good_  at it. Their silence was amazing and they were so graceful. I was jealous.

I wondered what in the world I would do for our team. I saw General Kunzite approach me. I assumed that I would be sent home for being so terrible. I lowered my head.

"Tsukino," he said, "you're the leader."

* * *

That night, we all took our meals in our rooms. It was a small bowl of bland-tasting soup and some rice. We ate it quietly.

"Why am I the leader?" I said when I found that I could stomach no more than the half the soup and few grains of rice despite the hunger pains I was having. A few pairs of eyes flashed up, but none of them answered. Makoto finished her soup and placed the bowl down. Rei added hers on top as well as Ami's.

"Why am I the leader?" I repeated. I needed an answer. This was driving me insane. I should not have been the leader. I should not have even been here. I didn't have the skills for it. Tears pricked my eyes. I didn't have the skills for being a good wife either. What could I do?

Finally, after a third time of asking, Minako finished her food and, scooting past the three who refused to look at me, said, "While we went through the basic training, we thought that General Kunzite had taken the prince's words into consideration because he chose our specialists carefully and fairly, right?"

I nodded and saw that the other three were listening intently.

"He hasn't," said Minako. "He put you in charge because you are the . . . oh, I'm sorry, but it's true— _worst_  of us. He wants us to fail."

"Why? What does that do?" I asked.

Minako put her hands on my shoulders and said firmly, "Work hard, Usagi."


End file.
